Changing the Narrative

“A Fantastic Woman” wins at the 2018 Oscars

Chilean film, “A Fantastic Woman,” won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film at the 2018 Academy Awards.

The film tells the story of a transgender woman who battles her lover’s family after he dies. It was directed and co-written by Sebastián Lelio, and is Chile’s first Oscar victory in that category.

The movie’s 28-year-old star, transgender actress Daniela Vega, has appeared in only one film before “A Fantastic Woman” and is the first openly transgender actor to present an award at an Oscar ceremony.

Vega plays Marina, a waitress and singer in a relationship with an older, divorced man. When the man has an aneurysm and falls down the stairs, Marina rushes him to the hospital. Before long, police are questioning her about whether she had any part in his death.

According to Reuters, the transgender woman’s battles with prejudice are evoked in surrealistic scenes in the movie, which are reminiscent of Latin America’s literary tradition of magic realism.